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NEW DELHI: Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata has apologised for embarrassment caused to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the government by caustic comments attributed to him in a recent interview, a rare instance of such contrition from a business leader known for his blunt interventions on a range of issues in the past.

London's Financial Times newspaper, which interviewed Tata earlier this month, cited him as being extremely critical of the government and the PM, sprinkling the article with words such as "lashed into the Prime Minister" and "rapped India" and "warned government of inaction".

But Tata, in a hand-signed personal letter to the PM whose purpose he said was aimed at clearing his position, denied using such language. The Tata group has already rejected the characterisation of comments attributed to its chairman in the interview, one of many he has given in recent weeks ahead of his retirement on December 28.

"I have been one of your greatest admirers and supporters, publicly and privately," Tata wrote.

"You have been someone I greatly respect and the last thing I would want would be a misunderstanding between us, created by an opportunistic journalist reflecting his personal views and that of his newspaper."

"I can only apologise for any embarrassment that this media misrepresentation may have caused you or the government," he added.

The December 10 letter also appended a full transcript of the interview with the Financial Times journalist.

Replying to Tata, the Prime Minister appeared to make light of the episode, noting that people in public life should be open to constructive criticism.

"Even as such criticism should persuade us to introspect about the path we are following, it is our conviction that should necessarily guide us forward," he said in the reply.

The contents of both letters were described to ET by someone who had seen them. The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Tata Sons.

The government came under sharp criticism from a range of industry luminaries in the past couple of years, many of whom bemoaned rampant corruption in the country, poor governance and a state of drift in policy-making.

A group of 14 eminent citizens, which included Wipro chief Azim Premji, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and former RBI governor Bimal Jalan, even wrote a series of open letters addressed to the country's leaders lamenting the state of affairs in the country, in the process shaping and setting the discourse that over time defined the UPA government's second innings.

While Tata was not a signatory to these letters, he has in the past also heaped criticism on the government, most notably in 2010 when transcripts of his conversations with lobbyist Nira Radia, whose phones were being bugged by tax authorities, found its way to the media.

In a television interview that year, Tata warned that India was sliding towards a banana republic.

"I think these are bad times. I wish the government would take a stand. . . If what has happened in the last few weeks is an indication of what can happen at any time, then we are going down the route that would lead us into a banana republic," he said, referring to the 2G spectrum scandal.

In the latest interview with the FT, he agrees with the suggestion that it was difficult to grow business in India given the way the country was being governed.

"Sometimes the issue is that different agencies of the government, different constituencies in the government, have almost contradictory interpretations of the law....

You may have the Prime Minister saying one thing, and may be one of the ministers having a different view. This doesn't happen in most countries," he is quoted as saying in the interview transcript.